Hair curler



'Oct. 23, 1956 M. WARHOLAK 2,767,719

HAIR CURLER Filed July '27, 1955 /Z FIG.2 37

INVENTOR. MICHAEL WARHQLAK BY 6%, M 744,

ATTORNEYS United States Patent HAIR CURLER Michael Warholak, Chicago, Ill. Application July 27, 1953, Serial No. 370,358

Claims. (Cl. 13240) This invention pertains to a hair curling device and, more particularly, to a new and improved multipart assembly for forming and setting curls in individual locks of hair.

Present devices utilizing multipart assemblies for forming curls require various types of resilient locking means which not only increase the weight of the assembly but also often result in the application of excessive tension to the roots of the hair. The metallic locking springs commonly used are difiicult to manipulate during the hair setting operation thereby prolonging the length thereof.

Further, the prior devices which require the introduction of a lock of hair into a multipart assembly lacks satisfactory means for insuring the insertion of all of the individual strands of a lock of hair into the curling device. Since the actual formation of the curl in some of the prior multipart curling devices takes place Within a substantially enclosed recess, it is often impossible to prevent snarling of and to secure an even distribution of the hair therein. Also, the prior devices utilizing winding posts around which the hair is formed in spaced convolutions lack means for introducing air adjacent the inner surface of the convolutions to facilitate drying, the hair normally being moistened to facilitate setting thereof.

Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide a new and improved curling device.

Another object is to provide a hair curler in which no resilient or mechanical locking devices are required.

A still further object resides in the provision of an improved hair curler in which the snarling of the hair during a setting operation is positively prevented.

Another object is to provide a hair curling device in which the inner surface of the convolutions of hair forming the curl are adequately dried.

A still further object is to provide a curling device including novel means for guiding and introducing a lock of hair into the device.

Another object is the provision of a curler having a toothed portion or comb engaging a lock of hair during curling to prevent snarling of the hair and to insure an even distribution of hair by separating the lock into a plurality of equal portions.

In accordance with these and many other objects, one embodiment of the invention comprises a base member including an upstanding bifurcated portion formed with an outer periphery having vertically extending grooves. The base member also defines an arcuate slot in registry with the bifurcation formed in the upstanding portion to facilitate introduction of a lock of hair between the bifurcations of said upstanding portion. A cover member having an annular depending wall forming an opening is adapted to be positioned on the base member so that the lock of hair extends outwardly from between the bifurcations and through the opening.

The opposed edges of the annular wall forming the opening are provided with a plurality of vertically spaced Patented Oct. 23, 1956 convolutions of hair produced by rotating the cover member cooperates with the vertically extending grooves to provide a plurality of passageways which are placed in fluid communication with the air by means of slots formed in the annular wall of the cover member so as to insure satisfactory drying of the inner portion of the curl. Inasmuch as the teeth on one of the edges of the annular wall remain in engagement with the lock of hair following the completion of the curl, it is not necessary that additional locking means he provided for securing the cover member to the base member.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following specification when read in conjunction with the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along line 22 in Fig. 1, assuming that the parts therein are completely assembled;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line 33 in Fig. 2 of the drawings, again assuming that the entire structure is disclosed in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the hair curler in assembled position following the production of a curl.

Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the embodiment of the invention disclosed therein provides a multipart hair curler 11 including a base member, indicated generally as 10 and a cover member indicated generally as 12. The base 10 is provided with an upstanding portion 16 around which hair is wound to form a curl 20. The cover 12 is adapted to rest upon a uniplanar portion or wall 14 of the base It) so that the upstanding portion 16 is substantially enclosed by the cover 12 to define an annular recess 18 within which the curl 20 is formed by rotating the cover 12 relative to the base 10.

More particularly, the base member 10 includes the integral upstanding portion 16 which is bifurcated to provide a slot 22 which extends not only through the upstanding portion 16 but also through the wall portion 14. To provide a means for insuring an adequate drying of the inner surface of the hair disposed within the recess or cavity 18, the outer periphery of the portion 16 is provided with a plurality of spaced and vertically extending grooves 24. These grooves cooperate with the inner surface of the curl 20 to define a plurality of spaced passageways extending axially along the length of the upstanding portion 16.

In order to introduce a lock of hair within the slot 22, the base wall 14 is also provided with an arcuate slot 26 which is in alignment or registry with a portion of the slot 22. When it is desired to introduce a lock 25 of hair into the curler 11, the lock 25 is positioned against a rounded edge portion 30 of the base wall 14, and relative movement is produced between the lock25 and the base member 10 so that the lock 25 .is introduced into the slot 26 and thereafter guided into the slot 22 so as to extend upwardly between the bifurcations of the upstanding portion 16. As disclosed in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the lock 25 is then displaced so as to extend substantially perpendicularly outward from the upstanding portion 16.

To provide a means for forming the lock 25 of hair into the curl 20, the cover member 12 is provided with an opening 34 formed by opposed edges having a plurality of teeth 36. When it is desired to form the lock 25 into a curl, the cover member 12 is positioned over the base member 10 with the opening 34 positioned in alignment with the slot 22, and, accordingly, with the outwardly extending portion of the lock 25. Thereafter, the cover member 12 is rotated in either a clockwise or a counterclockwise direction so that the teeth 36 on one of the opposed edges of the opening 34 engage the lock 25 through substantially its entire vertical length as disclosed in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

Continuing rotation of the cover member 12 relative to the base member 19 winds the lock 25 around the upstanding portion 16 to form the curl 26 while continuously combining the lock 25 to prevent snarling thereof. When the rotation of the cover member 12 results in displacement of all of the lock 25 of hair into the annular recess 13, the cover member 12 is slightly rotated and displaced inwardly so that one of the groups of teeth 36 engages the curl 20 to secure the cover member 12 to the base member 10 in a predetermined assembled relation. The cover 12 is knurled or provided with peripherally spaced protuberances, as indicated at 37, to facilitate manual apprehension of the cover.

In order to provide adequate drying for the inner portion of the mass of hair 20, the vertically extending grooves 24 in the upstanding portion 16 cooperate with the inner surface of the curl 2:) to define a plurality of vertically extending passageways. The cover member 12 is further provided with a plurality of vertically extending slots 41) which function to not only supply air for drying the outer portion of the curl 29 but also for providing a flow of air to the plurality of vertically extending passageways formed by the grooves 24, thereby resulting in accelerated drying of the inner portion of the curl 21).

In using the curler 11, a portion of a body of hair to be curled is separated to form a lock 25 which is placed in engagement with the curved edge portions 30 of the base member 10 and relative movement is produced between the base 10 and the lock 25 resulting in the introduction of the lock 25 into the arcuate passageway 26 and subsequently into the slot 22 formed in the upstanding portion 16. By the provision of the curved edge portion St; of the base wall 14, and by the provision of the a-rcuate entrance slot 26 it is possible to displace all of the strands of hair forming the particular lock 25 into the slot 22 thereby to insure proper curling of all of the separated portion of the hair. Following the introduction of the lock 25 into the slot 22, the lock 25 is displaced so as to extend substantially perpendicularly outward from the upstanding portion 16 (Fig. 2).

Thereaf er, the cover member 12 is positioned over the upstanding portion 16 with the opening 34 thereof in alignment with the outwardly extending portion of the lock 25, and then the cover member 12 is moved toward the base 10 so that the member 12 engages the upper surface of the wall 14. The cover 12 is rotated in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction, although, as disclosed in Fig. 3 of the drawings, a counterclockwise direction is preferred so that one group of the spaced teeth 36 engages substantially the full width of the lock 25 of hair. Thereafter the cover member 12 is rotated relative to the base member 10 so that the lock 25 of hair is wound around the outer periphery of the upstanding portion 16 to provide a curl 20 having either one or a plurality of convolutions. By winding the lock 25 from the portion adjacent t0 the scalp outwardly toward the ends, any breaking of the strands of hair is prevented. Since the teeth 36 are in continuous engagement with the lock of hair 25 during the curl forming operation, snarling or" the strands of the lock 25 is positively prevented and an even distribution of hair is secured, thereby resulting in a curl of improved appearance.

Following the formation of the curl, the cover memher 12 is displaced inwardly so that the teeth engage the mess of hair 20 thereby to secure the cover 12 in an adjusted position relative to the base member 10. The engagement of the teeth 36 with the mass of hair 20 positively locks not only the cover member 12 but also the assembled hair curler 11 with the scalp.

Since :the teeth 36 engage substantially the full width of the lock of hair 25, the curl 20 forms a unitary convolute body which is pleasing in appearance. Also, due to the fact that the curl 20 is formed as a single unitary mass of hair rather than the usual plurality of superimposed turns of hair, the need for additional means for compressing the curl 20 during setting and drying to insure a compact conformation is obviated with a resultant decrease in the weight and cost of the curler assembly. Further, the engagement of the teeth 36 with the lock 25 throughout the winding operation prevents an increase in the width of the lock and, accordingly, the width of the completed curl 20 may be controlled by merely selecting a lock of desired width and without providing a recess 1301 controllable dimension.

By the provision of the vertically extending slots 40, air is introduced into the recess 18 and placed in communication with the vertically extending passageways formed by the grooves 24 :so that not only the outer but also the inner portion of the curl 20, which is usually moistened during the setting, is exposed to the air so as to assure complete drying thereof in a relatively short period of time.

then it is desired to remove the hair curler from the scalp, the teeth 36, previously imbedded in the curl 20, are removed therefrom and the cover member 12 is displaced from the base member 10. Thereafter, the base member 10 may be removed from within the mass 20. Since the inner surface of the curl 20 is not in intimate engagement with the entire outer periphery of the upstanding portion 16 due to the grooves 24, the removal of the base member 19 from within the completed curl is facilitated.

Although only a single embodiment of the present invention has been described as illustrative of the principles of this invention, it is to be understood that numerous other embodiments may be provided by those skilled in the art which will fall within the spirit and scope of these principles.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A hair curler comprising a base member, a bifurcated post mounted on said base, said base having means formed thereon for guiding a lock of hair between the bifurcation of the post, and a cover member movably positioned on said base to encircle said post, said cover member having an opening in said encircling portion to receive said lock, and teeth carried by said cover adjacent to and extending into said opening from opposite edges of said opening for engaging said lock when said cover is rotated relative to said base 'to comb said lock and to wind the same about said bifurcated post.

2. A hair curler comprising a base member having a bifurcated upstanding portion for receiving a lock of hair, a cover member having an annular depending wall portion forming an opening through which said lock extends, said cover member being adapted to be positioned on said base so as to encircle said upstanding portion, and teeth formed on the opposed edges of the wall forming said opening and extending into said opening for engaging said lock whereby movement of said cover relative to said base winds said lock of hair around said upstanding portion and combs said lock as it is wound.

3. A hair curler comprising a base member having a bifurcated upstanding portion for receiving a lock of hair, said base member defining an arcuate slot extending from the periphery of said base to said bifurcated portion so as to introduce said lock between the bifurcations of the upstanding portion, a cover member having a depending wall forming an opening through which said lock extends, said cover being adapted to be positioned on said base so as to substantially encircle said upstanding portion, and teeth integrally formed on said wall on opposite edges of said opening and extending into said opening for engaging said lock whereby movement of said cover relative to said base winds said lock of hair around the upstanding portion, and combs said lock of hair as it is wound around said upstanding portion.

4. A hair curler comprising a base member having a bifurcated upstanding portion for receiving a lock of hair, said upstanding portion having a plurality of spaced recessed areas formed therein, said base member defining an arcuate slot extending from the periphery of said base to the bifurcated portion for guiding said loci; between the bifurcations of said upstanding portion, a cove-r member having a depending wall forming an opening through which said lock extends, said cover being adapted to be positioned on said base so as to substantially encircle the upstanding portion, and teeth formc on said Wall portion at two opposite edges of said opening and extending into said opening for engaging substantially the entire width of the extending portion of said lock whereby movement of said cover relative to said base winds said lock around the upstanding portion to form a convolution of hair and combs said lock as said convolution is formed, the inner surface of said convolution and said recess areas forming a plurality of fluid passageways for drying the inner portion of said convolution.

5. The hair curler defined in claim 4 in which the annular Wall is formed with a plurality of spaced openings to facilitate the introduction of air into the passage- Ways and the recess formed by the cover and base members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 160,373 Davis et al. Oct. 10, 1950 1,384,906 Lee July 19, 1921 2,042,397 High et a1. May 26, 1936 2,173,872 Barnes Sept. 26, 1939 2,429,176 Watson Oct. 14, 1947 2,515,751 Warrington et al. July 18, 1950 2,582,550 Madore Jan. 15, 1952 2,593,544 Davis et al. Apr. 22, 1952 2,595,844 Graham May 6, 1952 2,611,377 Barnes Sept. 23, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 833,547 Germany Mar. 10, 1952 

